the darkness conjecture

Here is a detailed explanation of what I have written so far—a title, subtitle, and main page—in theoretical and practical terms. This should contextualize the rest of the essays for you.

theory

Definition of Terms

Conjecture: a conclusion or supposition based on incomplete information. The darkness conjecture needs further testing and experimentation. Then it might become an hypothesis.

Strife: conflicted effort.

Rapture: the quiet, profound enjoyment of communion with Universe. Normally underlies all human experience.

Suffering includes the spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, social, and ecological.

“…a catastrophically injured psyche” means a consciousness that is: extremely traumatized; in analgesia; and malfunctioning in its principal faculties of thinking, feeling, and movement. We are crazy because we are damaged, not evil, flawed, nor ignorant.

“…the psyche…will heal itself”, means it will not just cope, but recover.

I believe the darkness conjecture may be true because, in my darkness retreats, I experienced an extreme degree of relief from suffering and an astonishing if temporary restoration of genuine well-being, including moments of rapture. Also, the conjecture makes sense. It is essentially a logical argument, each point of which everyone either knows or can find out for herself.

practice

The application of the darkness conjecture lies in doing darkness retreats of increasing length combined with radical changes in lifestyle until vitality is completely restored.

A darkness retreat consists of resting in an absolutely dark room for days at a time. The darkroom should be warm and well-ventilated, with places for personal storage, eating, eliminating, bathing, stretching, and resting in various positions. Nothing else. A good length for a first retreat is 2.5 days. I believe 14 days is enough to test the conjecture fully.

A supporter checks in with the retreatant and brings food on a daily basis. The retreatant has a way to contact the supporter in case of emergency while maintaining darkness. The supporter has completed at least one retreat herself; knows the most basic ideas of Natural Hygiene; is reliable; and has a modicum of common sense. Expertise is not required.

Regarding lifestyle change: if the insanity and unworkability of our way of life is not yet obvious to you, doing a darkness retreat will likely make it so. Virtually every element of our culture cries out for attention: family, habitat, shelter, food, clothing, work, energy, money, transportation, law, etc. Yet the radical solutions that lifestyle researchers and ecological designers have been delivering for decades go largely ignored.

The restoration of psychic integrity is the master key to their realization. We will still have to open the door and walk through, but maybe we can stop trying to pick the lock.

notes

…on the conjecture’s logic and wording:

A logical argument delineates the conjecture’s chain of causation:

darkness argument

1. Rapture is the natural human condition.
2. The human condition turns to suffering from a catastrophic injury to the psyche.
3. The psyche is a system of an organism.
4. Organisms are self-healing.
5. Healing requires vital energy.
6. Vital energy accumulates during rest.
7. Profound psychic rest occurs in absolute darkness.
8. Therefore, darkness retreating is a way to restore rapture.

The conjecture has changed over time. The wording of the original version influences the essays that follow, so I am including it here:

the darkness conjecture, original version

1. Civilized people suffer inordinately from meaninglessness, confusion, self-hatred, disease, sociopathy, and ecocide.
2. These conditions result from impaired consciousness, one traumatized into a round-the-clock fixation on gross reality and a denial of subtle reality (dreamtime).
3. This pathological fixation is a defensive posture against further gross injuries which civilization routinely inflicts on its members.
4. Consciousness, as a biological faculty, will heal from these injuries given the proper conditions, primarily rest.
5. Sustained total darkness leads to radically altered brain chemistry, inducing deep rest long enough to enable consciousness to permanently heal.
6. Healed consciousness clears the way back to a full life, dispelling our suffering and absurd problems.

Over time, this version seemed more and more incoherent to me. Reading The Science and Fine Art of Natural Hygiene by Herbert Shelton helped me grasp the crucial role in health of vital energy. This enabled me to tie the conjecture together.